Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois Receives Grant Funding for Children's Mental Health Initiative
Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois will receive up to $300,000 from the Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation to begin development of a comprehensive community-based children's mental health system in Springfield.
MHCCI is the lead agency representing a community-wide collaboration. Other partners are Springfield Public School District 186; Office of the Mayor, City of Springfield; Sangamon County Community Foundation; SIU School of Medicine; The Hope Institute for Children and Families; United Way of Central Illinois; Springfield Urban League; Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois; and, The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and other social service agencies.
MHCCI was one of five grant recipients selected in Illinois. Each will receive funding of up to $300,000 from the Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation to support a one year planning grant beginning June 1. The grant recipients will have the opportunity to receive additional funding for implementation over a three-year period.
Funded communities, like Springfield, will work collaboratively with local organizations or partners to implement evidence-based practices that are sustainable, and that promote the full potential of every child and youth by addressing their physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural and social needs.
MHCCI's proposal is called The Children's MOSAIC Project - Providing Meaningful Opportunities for Success and Achievement through Service Integration for Children. The MOSAIC Project is designed to create a comprehensive, coordinated and integrated community-based children's mental health system by targeting multiple high-need neighborhoods in Springfield.
"This grant submission was truly a collaborative community effort," said Janice Gambach, president of Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois. "Our collective work will be critical to the success of the project. It is my hope that this funding will support a system of care that meets the needs of children and family at their doorstep, at the right time, in the right amount, and with the right kind of support. This initiative will help Springfield strengthen the collaboration among community stakeholders, and integrate primary care, education, mental health services and other supports for children and their families."
The funding comes from Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation's Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI): Building Systems of Care, Community by Community. The CMHI is a multiyear, multimillion dollar initiative that will support creative, community-specific models to transform and improve the way mental health services are provided to children and youth in their communities.
"The major challenge in Illinois' children's mental health arena is the growing volume of children in need of services. The system is unprepared to meet that need," said Tammy Lemke, President of Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation. "The systems serving children are not integrated. The mental health provider, the child care provider, the school counselor or teacher, the health care provider or even the members in the community's natural helping networks don't always know what services others are providing, or even how to find them and link children to them. Children often fall through the cracks."
MHCCI, an affiliate of Memorial Health System, is a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive behavioral health and rehabilitation services to residents of six central Illinois counties.
Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF) is the only statewide private foundation focused on improving the health of all children in the state of Illinois. Since its inception in 2002 through 2009, a total of more than $36 million in grants has been invested in over 225 programs. For more information, visit ILCHF.org.